Why JK Rowling said she won't forgive Harry Potter stars Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson
Warning: This article contains discussion of LGBTQ+ issues which some readers may find distressing.
It's almost been a year since Harry Potter author JK Rowling claimed she'd never forgive movie actors Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson after they publicly shunned her controversial views on transgender rights.
For many fans of the 'Wizarding World' book series and film franchise, Rowling's views on transgender individuals has tainted its success.
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The 59-year-old writer's arguably most shocking comments came in a tweet she wrote in 2020 in response to an opinion piece about 'people who menstruate'.
"'People who menstruate'," she wrote online at the time. "I’m sure there used to be a word for those people.
"Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?"
In the years that followed, several actors from the magical movies have since clarified that their own viewers do not align with those expressed by Rowling, specifically titular actor Daniel Radcliffe and 'Hermoine Granger' star Emma Watson.
In an essay he penned for the LGBTQ+ organisation The Trevor Project, a now 35-year-old Radcliffe firstly apologised for any 'pain' Rowling's views may have inflicted onto the community.
Watson, 34, meanwhile, told her fans: "I want my trans followers to know that I and so many other people around the world see you, respect you and love you for who you are."
In April 2024, however, Rowling once again dragged up the debate, posting on Twitter about Hilary Cass' recent review on gender services for UK children, which she called 'the most robust review of the medical evidence for transitioning children that's ever been conducted'.
She claimed the findings showed that 'kids have been irreversibly harmed', adding: "Thousands are complicit, not just medics, but the celebrity mouthpieces, unquestioning media and cynical corporations."
Unsurprisingly, it wasn’t long before the backlash came, although one of her defenders wrote in response to the post: "Just waiting for Dan and Emma to give you a very public apology ... safe in the knowledge that you will forgive them ..."
However, Rowling then replied to say that they were ‘not safe’ in the knowledge of being forgiven by her.
“Not safe, I'm afraid,” she wrote.
“Celebs who cosied up to a movement intent on eroding women's hard-won rights and who used their platforms to cheer on the transitioning of minors can save their apologies for traumatised detransitioners and vulnerable women reliant on single sex spaces.”
In turn, many others came to Radcliffe and Watson's defence, arguing that Rowling had taken their comments as a 'personal attack' on her.
One fumed: "Perhaps Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson won't forgive JK Rowling for her transphobia. Has she thought of that?"
Another said: "This genius thinks JK Rowling literally gave birth to Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson. Utterly lunatic.
"But even if she did, that would not compel them to agree with her. Children don't have to agree with their parents."
LADbible Group contacted representatives for Radcliffe and Watson for comment. A representative for Rowling declined for comment.
What the other Harry Potter stars have said about JK Rowling and her comments on the trans community
Rupert Grint
The Ron actor said in a statement in 2020: "I firmly stand with the trans community and echo the sentiments expressed by many of my peers. Trans women are women. Trans men are men."
He added in an interview with the Times two years later: "I liken JK Rowling to an auntie. I don’t necessarily agree with everything my auntie says, but she’s still my auntie. It’s a tricky one."
Ralph Fiennes
The Voldemort actor told The New York Times in 2022: "The verbal abuse directed at her is disgusting, it’s appalling.
"I can understand a viewpoint that might be angry at what she says about women. But it’s not some obscene, uber-right-wing fascist. It’s just a woman saying, ‘I’m a woman and I feel I’m a woman and I want to be able to say that I’m a woman.’"
Harry Melling
Melling, who played Harry Potter's cousin Dudley Dursley, told the Independent in 2022: "I can only speak for myself, and what I feel, to me, is very simple, which is that transgender women are women and transgender men are men."
Evanna Lynch
Lynch played Luna Lovegood in the films and told the Telegraph: "I just felt that her character has always been to advocate for the most vulnerable members of society. The problem is that there’s a disagreement over who’s the most vulnerable.
"I do wish people would just give her more grace and listen to her."
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact the LGBT Foundation on 0345 3 30 30 30, 10am–6pm Monday to Friday, or email [email protected]
Topics: JK Rowling, Celebrity, Harry Potter, LGBTQ
Rhianna Benson